Magazine: Winter 2011 | Volume 18, No. 2

Since the passing of the Freedom of Information of Act in
1966, open government has become a term bandied about by journalists,
activists, and even the current President of the United States. However more
than the declassification of state secrets, information access—spurred on by
the World Wide Web—has opened the door for a global movement: open democracy.
The combined efforts of politicians, programmers and everyday citizens are
highlighted in the latest issue of XRDS. From censorship to
crimemapping, we explore how computer science can strengthen democracy.

FREE CONTENT FEATURE

The former U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer and the author of Wiki Government: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger and Citizens More Powerful discusses open government and what it really means.

SPECIAL SECTION: Online Features

FREE CONTENT FEATURE

In this article we outline the technological characteristics and features of "smart cities," describe how these are being implemented in the real-world, and explore some of the challenges these characteristics present to communications technologies.